Coupling for swingletrees or doubletrees.



No. 759,555. PATBNTED MAY 1o, 1904.

' v Y s. WYLBS.

GOUPLING FOR'SWINGLETREES 0R DOUBLETREES.

APPLICATION FILED 13116.24, 1903.

N0 MODEL. I

No. l759,585.

UNITED STATES Iatented May 10, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

VSELVVYN VYLES, OF SONORA, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '7 59,585, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed December 24, 1903. Serial No. 186,501. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat I', SELWYN WYLns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sonora, in the county of Hancock and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Coupling :for Swingletrees or Doubletrees, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in whiflletree-couplings for use in connection with swingletrces and doubletree's.

rlhe object of the present invention is to improve the construction of whiliietree-couplings and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and cfiicient device of great strength and durability designed for pivotally mounting whiflletrees and for connecting the same with each other and with the tongue or shafts of a Vehicle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a whiflletree-coupling of this character adapted to strengthen and support whiflietrces and capable of being readily applied to the same and of lessening the tendency of whilfletrees to tip forward.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended, it being' understood that various changes in the form, size, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrilicing any of the advantages of the invention.

ln the accompanying'drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a whifl'letree-coupling constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a portion of a swingletree and the cross-bar of a pair of shafts or thills. Fig. 2 is a reverse plan view of the same. Fig'. 3 is a vertical sectional view. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the plates of the coupling, and Fig. 5 is a similar view of the otherplate of the coupling.

Like numerals of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

1 and 2 designate upper and lower horizontally-disposed plates pivotally connected at the back by a rivet 3 or other suitable fastening device and interlocked at the :front by means of a substantially hook shaped tongue 4, formed integral with the upper plate and embracing the front edge of the lower plate. The plates are preferably tapered from front to rear and substantially sector-shaped-,as shown; but theymay be of any other desired configuration, as will be readily understood. 'Ihe plates are provided at their rear ends a considerable distance in rear of the whiiiletree 5 and the cross-bars 6 with registering pivotopenings 7 and 8, and as the pivot is located back of the whiiiletree and the cross-bar 6 the tendency of the whiiilctree to tip forward is greatly lessened. The hook-shaped tongue, which is located a considerable distance in advance of the whiietree, depends from the center of the front edge of the top plate and receives and extends inward beneath the front edge 9 of the bottom plate, which is curved on the are of a circle the center of which is the pivot 3 of the plates. The bottom plate is recessed or cut away at its front to form the curved edge 9 and to provide a pair of projecting horizontally-disposed lugslO, consisting' of extensions of the plate and arranged to limit the lateral movement of the hook -shaped tongue, and consequently the pivotal movement of the plates. By this construction the plates are securely interloclred at their front edges and broad bearing-surfaces are provid ed for the coupling. The plates are provided with opposite sides or `flanges 1l and 12, which embrace the sides of the whililetree and the cross-bar 6 and are curved inward over the outer faces of the same, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, whereby the whiflietree and the cross-bar are strengthened and supported. The sides or `lianges are connected by horizontal rivets 13 and 14, which prevent them from spreading and which hold them firmly in engagement with the parts to which they are applied.

The particular construction and arrangement of theA parts of the coupling obviate the necessity of perforating the whiiiletree and the cross-bar for the reception of a pivot bolt or pin, and thereby weakening' such parts, and also the necessity of employing bolts and nuts is obviated.

The coupling, although shown in the ac- IOO compan ying drawings applied to a swingletree and the cross-bar of a pair of shafts or thills, is also applicable to two-horse teams and may be as readily applied to the same for coupling the doubletree to the tongue and for securing the swingletrees to the doubletree.

The rear end of the bottom plate is extended beyond the top plate and slotted to provide a transversely-disposed loop 15 for the reception ot' a stay strap or chain. This loop will be omitted from the coupling for connecting a doubletree with the tongue.

What I claim as new is- A coupling ot' the class described, comprising a pair of plates fitted flat against each other and pivotally connected at one end, one of the plates being recessed at the opposite end to form an arcuate edge and to provide end extensions, said end extensions being disposed horizontally in the same plane as the recessed plate, and the other plate being provided with an integral hook-shaped tongue embracing the arcuate edge and having its movement limited by the said extensions, ears or flanges arranged in pairs and formed integral with the plates, said ears or Hanges being located between the ends of the plates and arranged to embrace the parts to which the coupling is applied, and approximately horizontal fastening devices piercing and connecting the said ears or flanges and arranged in planes parallel with those ot the said plates, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SELWYN VYLES.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR J. SoHNElDER, WILLIAM J. SINGLETON. 

